one night of magic rush

[blyat]

WHO: Cain, Prompto, Hideki Maeda, and you!
WHERE: The popular Asylum club.
WHEN: Night of October 26.
WHAT: Cain and Prompto's joint birthdays!
NOTES OR WARNINGS: Beyond drinking/smoking, general wild party behavior, and fake friendship, there shouldn't be much. Will update as needed.


[Set deep in the downtown of New Amsterdam's entertainment district is Asylum, arguably the most popular club in the city. The exterior is cool steel beams and tasteful futuristic architecture with a long line down the corridor, suited bouncers posed at the entrance all armed with a virtual guest list. Its interior is fashioned with bright, colorful lighting dynamic to the music of the infamous DJ Semicolon, high ceilings and acoustic sounds to lend that feeling of a constant full-body hum. Any partygoers on the guest list for this event will be funneled toward the VIP section. They will have received an invitation a few days prior via their Cooltalk profiles. Jason is specifically blacklisted, sorry buddy.

DANCE YOUR HEART OUT. Nearly impossible to book without deep pockets or wide-reaching connections, Semicolon is at the top of their game mixing popular contemporary hits with Whitney Houston's classics. From song to song, Semicolon provides a unique and talented contrast of the slow to the energetic, so no matter your dancing style, you'll find something to move you on the dance floor.

DROWN YOUR... LIVER. Courtesy of the party's host, Hideki Maeda, the VIP section's private bar will provide an ever-flowing river of your favorite expensive high-proof alcohol. Pick your poison.

CHILL OUT. Tired on your feet from too much dancing, or just need a break from the packed atmosphere? There are plenty of comfortable areas where you can relax and take it easy until you're ready to get back out there. The lights around this area cycle through different colors in reflection of Semicolon's performance set, so a slower song might lend toward romantic shades of red while a faster-paced song is brighter blue.

SMOKE, EAT & MINGLE. Asylum will be serving real, fresh meat at this party, so enjoy that luxury while it lasts. There is also an outdoor area with a beautiful view over the city itself if you want to take your vape pen out there for a smoke, just get some air, or see who's around for a chat.]

Comments

[adsero]

Mm, so we're of the same mind then. I'm counting the minutes until Cain decides he's had enough and we go home, but as the subject of the party I imagine I'll be waiting quite a while.

[But it's worth it. So he thinks.]

[But this is better than sitting alongside people who were only there to be seen there, people who weren't interested in introducing themselves and having a quiet conversation outside. V is definitely a nice change of pace, and fits right in with the softer environment Abel had sought outside.]

So who's your roommate?

[adsero]

[At the mention of 'that fellow', Abel looks over at the bar and scowls. His tired and tipsy state has left him a little less kind, apparently. He takes the cup of ice, not putting everything together just yet, and puts a cube into his mouth sulkily.]

As if I'd have any kind of... concoction he made. He doesn't even know what he's doing, it's just a waste of decent alcohol.

[adsero]

Oh don't worry. Standing next to me? You'll look like Fosse.

[Abel doesn't think much of it and takes the offered hand. With how often he and Cain touch one another, sometimes for prolonged periods of time, the empathy link is a familiar thing. When it starts curling over his shoulders, Abel lets go in surprise-- just that, not out of fear or anxiety, he just wasn't expecting it.]

Oh, I'm-- Sorry I didn't know you, ah, we were both...

[adsero]

[Abel frowns when Prompto doesn't try to correct him, just leans harder on the idea that he should be having a good time because Hideki threw him a party that everybody's talking about. Where's Cain?]

[He scans the crowd and finds him outside, talking to Xuanyu, looking a little irate about it too. Well, Cain didn't rub everybody the right way, and Abel can understand how Xuanyu's circular yammering might be more grating to Cain. But still, it seemed like he was having a good time every time Abel looked at him. But with Prompto acting like this, he has to wonder...]

You want another? As long as I'm mothering you, nobody can pull you back into this 'pretty great' party, right?

[mercurio]

[it comes as a relief—that abel doesn't push the issue forward, but instead offers comfort in silent understanding. prompto feels a sting in his eyes but it's nothing, really, just a wash of emotion. he presses forward, reclining fully on the table and keeping his arms spread before him.]

Maybe later. Just the company's fine.

[it's a request if there's ever been one. it's easy to feel alone despite being surrounded by a crowd that is excited to wish him happy birthday (mostly while hideki's in sight, probably to get an in into the rich guy's friend group).]

[acting like it's all fun, like it's all fine... it's draining in a way prompto hadn't noticed until now.]

I almost didn't come. [he mumbles, cheek pressed to arm] I hyped it up to V, though, and then I just had to keep the show going, y'know. Big twenty-one, exciting, whoo! [jazz hands] and all that. [huffing out a sharp breath, it pushes up his blond bangs off his eyes.] It was... almost like showing up with a friend.

[these be his buzzed-not-quite-drunk ramblings, but he's clearly trying to keep a strong vibe going.]

[adsero]

Oh, Prompto... [Abel looks uncertain for a moment, but decides that if the situation were reversed he wouldn't mind too much. He rests his hand comfortingly on the center of Prompto's back and gently rubs a small circle. He saw the photos of Prompto's friends, he clearly misses them so much today of all days. Abel knows he would feel Cain's absence acutely if he were absent from Abel's birthday.]

You have friends here. I know most of these people seem to be more of Hideki's crowd than yours, but... we're friends, aren't we? [Kind of going out on a limb here, but he's doing his best to soothe Prompto in his moment of need.]

You want to hear about my twenty-first birthday? It was a lot like this, honestly. My father is an influential politician back on Earth, so I couldn't have anything close to a party with an open bar and music. The temptation to do something scandalous would be too great. [Abel smirks and rolls his eyes.] So my parents rented out a country club and hosted a party-- mostly consisting of politically influential families, donors, and they tried to pass them off as my friends. Horrible and embarrassing as it was, I just endured it.

[wiccant]

( abel pulls his hand back, and billy pulls his hand back in the same vein before he's--laughing it off. he's comfortably buzzed, it helps with the anxiety lingering beneath it. )

It's fine! I didn't either. We'll just have to be careful. ( by pulling his sleeves back down over his hands, and shoving thumbs through two little holes inside the sleeves themselves. ) Or we can just dance where no one'll notice the glow.

[blyat]

[It isn't often she speaks of herself personally. Peggy strikes him as the type of person who holds each card closer to her chest than even himself, which is no easy feat, yet allows him to appreciate this rare glimpse into the fold of her mind. Who she was as a girl, what she wanted, what has become of her now. There's some mirror of similarity between them — in that childlike dream for adventure, however differently it had played out along their separate paths.

Returning the nudge with a slight lean sideways, Cain's smile is softer at the edges.]

Here you are, [tone sharper, though his smile remains.] Look at all the stuff you've been up to. Morningstar, relief efforts, politics. Didn't you get a new promotion? [See, he pays attention to the news.] Busiest secretary I've ever met.

[In jest, of course.]

You ever need help with anything, just ask. Hope you actually get to have some fun once in a while. If you wanna dance, I can volunteer myself.

[blyat]

[This is getting a bit too soft for him, as Billy targets exactly the truth: he did go with Abel. He carried that guilt along for the ride, but he fought at Abel's side on the battlefield again and again, and every time they rescued someone or succeeded in a fight, it gave Cain a new and heady feeling of success. Doing good. Meaning. Nothing he'd experienced before.

With a huff, he leans over and cups Billy's hand holding the drink to take another stubborn sip off the glass rim. And then he's extricating himself from their tangle so Billy won't feel that thread of embarrassment.]

'Course he does. [A friendly smack on the shoulder, Cain begins to move away, flirtatious smirk back.] You wanna dance later, come find me.

[blyat]

[Some of that he can pick up on. Maybe not the true heart of the reason Angel shies from the dance floor, and he has no reason to doubt the truth of her excuse, but he does know inexperience when he sees it. Cain is perceptive enough, and it's clear she isn't comfortable in this environment.]

Why don't we start with getting you a better drink? That one's probably bitter, huh. [He nods toward the bar, where Hideki has hopelessly commandeered the station.] With that guy making 'em, it's gotta have way more alcohol than you want. What do you wanna try, sweet or savory?

[blyat]

[Surreal to be here, rooted in Abel's memory as it's been pieced together around them, a personal fragment of his life on Earth. Purely Ethan. His eyes follow the road as it swoops down the slope ahead and bend around corners into unseen territory. That he would take this route so frequently, and right before he came to space, joined the Alliance, and then found his way into Cain's arms through calculated fate.

Walking over to the bike, he lays a hand on the shiny red paint. It's cool underneath his palm. A gentle nudge of their shoulders, he smiles.]

You gonna take us for a ride, then? Let's go.

[blyat]

[As soon as Prompto intercepts him, Cain peels himself away from the crowd so they have some privacy away from the loud thunder of music. His brows raise in surprise as the box is pushed toward him, but it's not too shocking. This is Prompto, after all.]

Hey, why the hell is the other birthday boy giving me something?

[But he's beaming as he takes the box with the sunglasses set inside. Cain's own voice is raised over their surroundings, head bent close to Prompto's ear.]

Fuck, these are awesome! Where'd you find 'em?

[blyat]

[What could Hideki believe they want, assuming the covers they've played this whole time? Of course, the guess is left to him. Cain sips at his drink and adopts an expression of careful thought. Hideki values attention, wealth, luxury, and drugs. Money is no object. That in mind, he has absolutely no idea what it could be.]

... Uh, more shots? [Okay, that wasn't the greatest attempt.] Hoverbikes? Day passes to a resort spa? ... Acid?

[He could keep going down a list of things-Hideki-probably-likes, because it follows that their gifts have to be Hideki approved.]

Gonna be awesome, whatever it is. I can be patient.

[blyat]

[There's something sly on the tip of his tongue about her being as much a view as the skyline itself, but the gift offers enough distraction to fend it off.

As the foil peels away, the red shape of wax sits solid in his palm, occupying no more space than a handful. The recognition spins in alongside her words -- and a dazzling grin breaks across Cain's lips.]

You're serious, you got me this?

[Giddy like a child and a little embarrassed for it, he opts for a physical expression of gratitude instead of words. A step in and he pulls Alex into a solidly squeezed hug. Emotions flash between them, chest dim blue beneath the gold shirt: happiness, surprise, warmth.]

Best gift yet. I mean it.

[blyat]

[No pushover, nothing here to take lightly. Cain sees that. A brow arches at the question as it plays into that last statement, I'm no homewrecker, and nothing shines through his expression except the sharp edge of amusement underlaid by irritation. Wei Wuxian is more than words or gestures, each action with a suggestion of cunning underneath it, mercurial and flighty. Maybe he's reading into their interactions, but he doesn't think so. It's a gut instinct.

That reply alone is digging for, what? Deflection or weakness?]

Sure thing.

[Let him read into it all he wants. He's already made subtle confirmation of his relationship to Abel, so there's no reason to act dumb or embarrassed. The details will stay private -- and those are more important.]

Someone flirts with me, I see if they're really serious about it. Flirt back, play with 'em, whatever's fun. Maybe I sleep with them if I'm interested. [Not anymore, with Abel here, but that was his old routine.] Said you weren't trying to get in my pants, I got that. Just gotta be careful or you'll give someone the wrong idea. Somebody who's not as experienced with this shit as me.

[Dark eyes rest on him, Cain's weight leaning back against the railing in a casual slump.]

Wei Wuxian. Was that it? The real name you don't go by here.

[blyat]

[It isn't easy to hear V over the chaotic noise of their surroundings. Cain leans, hand cupped over an ear, barely capturing the sound of that laughter as it rises and is swallowed by the competing sensory input of loud music and raucous partygoers.]

Well, you're definitely not gonna get that here.

[A sweep of Cain's gaze evaluates him in comparison to Prompto's posts. The two next to each other, too-bright and too-dark, makes him wonder.]

How the hell did you even meet? You're, uh. One of us, right?

[Has to be. V should know what he means. Otherwise, Prompto picked him out of the city at large, and V doesn't seem natural to New Amsterdam by any means. Cain could perhaps be more subtle, but as that isn't his way, here they are.]

[adsero]

[The reaction is better than Abel had anticipated. Because he and Cain are always hanging off each other, practically glowing 24/7, he's associated the link with intimacy and conveying feelings he can't put words to. But he can also easily see how it could be used to pull the truth out of someone unwilling to discuss how they really felt. It's a way to hop the privacy fence, so to speak.]

[But apparently this man's not bothered by it, and Abel smiles back awkwardly at the strange moment.] Yeah, of course! We just have to be careful. [He notices what the other is doing, and while he doesn't have thumb holes in his sweater he can just pull it down over his palms-- it's long enough, though it does look ridiculous. Abel shows Billy his ridiculous sweater-sleeve covered hands and laughs before holding out his hand this time.]

I think we're covered.

[amstrdm]

Wait. You don't have a hoverbike already? [ Hideki approved, but clearly none of the things listed. Now that a game's been started, it might be continued.

This question may be evidence that he's already been distracted. ]

It's not a hoverbike! My mom would be pissed if I got you something that big — she starts giving me an allowance if I go too big! [ He looks guilty and tugs them both close. ] This party was too big, but I convinced her. Don't worry!

[amstrdm]

You know, I met them not long before New Tokyo. [ For anyone keeping track: that's very recently. Hideki isn't the type to question this, though his mother likely will. ] They were — you know when you meet someone, and you just know you're bound? People don't like that stuff these days, but I knew it with them. [ He looks somewhat dreamy.

And then continues. ] Wait! So, you're here for Prompto ... are you some charity thing? He's a really good guy. [ Considering. ] Too nice! I'm wondering if I can change that. He shouldn't be lending out his shower, and it's clear you needed one recently. You're all ... [ He searches for the word, pulling back the plate. ]

You clearly can't afford to eat! That's it. Like, wow. You know the weird candle thing people do, right? To get free food? I'm surprised anyone bothers, but maybe you should try that instead of going after my friend's credits.

[revlon]

[ She slants a wry glance his way at the secretary comment. For all that she does keep her private life private, she doesn't pull her punches elsewhere — literally and figuratively. If anyone cares to put two and two together, the pieces are laid out, but far be it from her to make it plain. ]

I'm not one to sit still, [ she interjects lightly. And then he carries on and she's about to tell him she's grateful for the offer, would be glad for his help in all that stuff he'd mentioned she's caught up in, and then he mentions dancing. And just like how tidbits of her life are rare, so too are her laughs — but this startles one out of her, no less genuine for its softness. ] Oh, no. No, I wouldn't know how to dance to that noise you call music.

[ She'd old fashioned that way. But God, does she miss dancing. She hadn't done it in years out of mourning, did half a song on the dance floor with a brilliant scientist she'd been interviewing, and then ended up in this world where her present was nothing more than ancient history. ]

And I doubt anyone here knows how to do the foxtrot. More's the pity.

[laozu]

[ what he fishes for is not cain's shame, nor his ire, but confirmation enough that he acknowledges whatever is between him and abel. wei wuxian likes the navigator enough, he's an emotional tenderling, but only because his heart is in all the right places; he'd seen him cry over cain, "his fighter", so more than anything - he just wants to see. not a why, not a how - he just wants to see it between them, because maybe it will answer the own questions brewing in his belly. the ones he doesn't even know how to voice. ]

It sounds like it's difficult on you.

[ gut instinct, as always. one can't be an effective detective, or a senior cultivator, without being able to cold read someone. he imagines that it can't be easy to play pretend all the time, event though he is a man who does nearly the same thing on behalf of his own loved ones. ]

Honestly, I didn't know that was... how someone could take this. At least, someone who's not a woman. We don't overtly -- flirt, not between men. It's not wrong, mind you. It's just a quiet affair. And yes, that's my name. My real name, not the name of... [ quietly, he touches his fingers together - guides them to his body's forearms in thought, reflective and grieving - for "himself", yet not himself ] The person I'm trying to do right by.

[ he can give cain that, there's no harm in it ]

Pass that here. I'll pay you back, I promise.

[ and he holds a hand out, for the item that the other man has been huffing on outside ]

[wiccant]

( he's got cain's number down by now. billy gives a soft laugh, lets cain take his hand and steal a little more of his drink before he's raising the glass up and taking a sip of his own after cain starts heading off. he's walking away, billy's not going to sit here and force the guy to stay around, and it's cute; the look on his face, the way cain reacts.

cain and abel are both lucky, to have each other. especially in a place like this. )

You should go dance with your boyfriend. ( because it definitely doesn't sound like they're exes anymore. ) Have fun!

[blyat]

[Rather than answer - head ducked down, ears probably burning but gratefully hidden from Billy's view - Cain casually flips him off with a casual backwards gesture of one hand as he leaves. Billy wouldn't hear him over the music, anyway.]

[blyat]

Not difficult to fuck someone.

[While that was clearly not what Wei Wuxian meant, it's another deliberate deflection, one shoulder rolled in a slight shrug.]

So, it's just a problem of it being other guys? [Cain's memory flashes back to that dock, the lotuses afloat on the still water, the stiff air of serenity around them. Not a place for wildness. Something in those mannerisms comes across old, traditional, stuffy. Not like where they had traveled from in the dreams, within the landscape of Cain's own mind he's not eager to discuss or relive.] Welcome to the future, nobody gives a shit here.

[Surfacing the device from his pocket, he holds it out as offering.]

Press the button till it glows red, then inhale from the tip.

[verselet]

[V is more... patient as he is now, as opposed to how he used to be. But it's still difficult to abide by Hideki's willful ignorance of all he's saying; it isn't so much the slight against V's appearance as it is the assumption that he's a mere hanger-on. A parasite come to drain the resources of his new acquaintance, which represents a different sort of weakness that sets his nerves on edge.

The plate's pulled back, but he lets it slip from his grasp, having no care for its contents.]

There's something to be said about those who judge solely based on appearances.

[Likely something very unflattering, but V lets that hang there.]

I'm not a charity case. Believe it or not, I'm Prompto's new roommate. My presence here is because I was invited, not because I've been scrounging around for credits.